Anyone Had Surgery

Sorry you had a bad time with surgery..No offense but Fla does not have the best medical care. I live in Mass where our healthcare is excellent. I've tried everything, diet, fiber etc etc... like my surgeon/ PCP says it's nothing you did it do you do to have these flare ups, it's just rotten luck. I feel surgery is my last resort. Just waiting to hear back from surgeon after he looks at my CD of cat scan of abdomen

No offense taken. It is widely known that Florida health care is terrible.  I lived in New York City and CT for 66 of my 68 years.  The doctors here started pushing for surgery after 2 attacks.  I finally agreed to it when my attack in Feb 2017 landed me in the Sarasota Hospital ER which was a horrible experience in itself.  The doctors gave me a song and dance that I was the perfect candidate because even though I had suffered about 5 attacks, they couldn't see any abcesses, or issues other than the diverticula.  So dumb trusting me agreed.  They said they'd remove 10-16 inches of my descending colon.  I figured I'd experience  some pain that would be easily managed by by meds and be home in 3-5 days.  Well we saw that didn't work out as planned.  Another reason I agreed was my fear of a rupture and winding up with a permanent colostomy. I am beginning to wonder if diverticulitis is the disease "du jour" of the 21st century.  Back in the 1950's at least in the USA it seemed everyother kid was getting his tonsils yanked out, yet today I rarely hear about that happening.  Sadly a colon cannot be as easiy viewed as tonsils, so who knows what's going on until it's passed a point where DD could be controlled by less dramatic means than surgery.  In a perfect world perhaps people could be screened at a younger age and some cases might respond to diet and medication. This idea would be about as popular as a skunk at a lawn party with insurance companies. Of course there will be some cases for which surgery is the only option, but it might be a start. Lastly let's not forget the almighty dollar.

?There are big bucks to be made in removing those poor suffering intestines.  To those of you who are suffering, terrified and unsure of what to do- know that all of you are in my prayers and I hope we all keep each other in our prayers as well.

Good reply Sally. And I love Sarasota area and plan myself to retire in Fla, but I'm only 60 right now. And you are so correct about tonsillectomy back in the day, now it's other things the surgeons go gung ho on. I work in the medical field myself and unfortunately I see this. I have a great colorectal surgeon who teaches others the new robotic procedure s all through the country. I have a lot of Faith in him, but of course there is still that fear in me. Wish there were just a simple pill to cure this rotten disease. Thanks for your thoughts and sharing your prayers

Hi Sally, Its early days for you with your recovery after your surgery as it was only on June 12th and I hope your seeing an improvement and feeling a bit better after your experience.

You would never receive surgery here in England after just two bouts of diverticulitis, unless something major had happened, say a perforated bowel. I know a few people with this complaint and they have all had it for years. But, as you stated where money can be made and comes into the equation, that puts a whole different slant on things. You could never be totally sure if surgery is being carried out for the right reasons other than just financial gain. There will always be unscrupulous individuals who are just pocketing the money and not making a decision that's right for their patient.

Just an observation on your point on your post to Linda 282930  about finding out from her surgeon if she will end up with a colostomy or not and if it will be permanent or can be reversed later. In my own experience, my surgeon said he would try and avoid a stoma but when he opened me up the damage caused by clusters of abscesses and repeated bouts of diverticulitis had caused such a mess and damage, he had no option with the way the surgery had to be carried out,than to create a stoma. So, with the best will in the world, a  surgeon may try to carry out surgery where you don't end up with a stoma but it all depends on what he finds when he opens you up on how things will proceed and end up. 

Its always going to be difficult to make a decision if it's elective surgery, nobody wants to have surgery and I would think everyone would be scared. I didn't have to make that decision, it was taken out of my hands but I was still scared at the thoughts of having an op and apprehensive about the outcome. But after 16 months, 3 surgeries and no stomas, a brilliant and positive outcome. I can only hope for everyone who is facing surgery, a positive outcome too. Good luck.

Lynne.

 

Thanks Lynne,

?Right now my biggest concern is anal incontinence.  It seems to happen mostly at night in my sleep. Naturally I take extensive measures to protect the bed,  Do you think this is temporary and will ease up over time?  Right now I don't even leave the house because I just don't feel well enough yet. Also the amount of these movements is astounding consider how little I am eating.  Any info will be appreciated.

?Sally

Hi Sally, sorry I'm a bit later replying, meal out last night and overnight stay celebrating 33 years of marriage! 

It's not pleasant having to always make sure the bedding and mattress is always protected, I know I've had it with both the colostomy and ileostomy which could leak or sometimes just burst off the stoma. I've had a few hairy moments I can tell you. 

Its only a couple of weeks since your surgery and it is a major operation, you won't feel like leaving the house, I didn't go out for about 5 weeks, didn't feel like it and couldn't be bothered. I didn't want visitors, couldn't be bothered to talk to them even. Your body's still repairing itself and using all its resources for that.  I think it's small steps at first, you'll know when you start to feel bored and ready to venture out, even if someone just takes you for a drive somewhere, a walk around the garden or to the bottom of the street. 

Your surgery sounds as if it didn't result in a stoma from what you say about anal incontinence, so that's a different outcome to my surgery and I think the incontinence is something that will just take time to resolve. Since being re-joined and stoma free last September, in the early days following the surgery,  I'd have fluctuating bowel movements. Sometimes 6-7 in the space of a couple of hours, sometimes nothing over the course of a day, sometimes could go 3-4 days with none and sometimes would get the urge to go immediately and I'd have to literally run and just make it. This was another reason for not leaving the house. The fear of needing a toilet quickly if you were out. That has all settled down now, but it's took a few months, about 7. I'd say it's only the last couple of months where I can see a pattern emerging. So, I'd say give it time. You'll still be under the hospitals care and will probably have a follow up appointment soon, so if you don't see an improvement or are concerned in any way mention it to them.

I was able to call the consultant/surgeons secretary in between appointments and she would speak to him and call me back with an answer. Is that something that you could do, if concerned?

I hope you begin to see improvements soon and start to feel better and a bit more positive and happier knowing that things will gradually get better but will take time.

Lynne.

 

Thanks Lynne and congratulations on your anniversary.  You are correct.  no stoma, no bag - rather a removal of 10 inches of descending colon and then a reconnection to whatever part of the colon they reconnect to. I am praying that this anal incontinence is just temporary.  I can live with that.  My fear is that the surgeon did something wrong and it's permanent.  

?I see him this Tuesday to have my staples removed and will mention it to him.  Things are a bit different here in the USA.  I won't see this surgeon again.  My needs in this area will be tended to by either what we call a primary care physician or my gastroenterologist which wecall a specialist.

?Things have been complicated by the fact that I fell my last night in the hospital and landed on my face.  The staff did nothing other than take my blood pressure.  I came home on Tuesday and have felt pretty lousy-nausea, dizzy, blurred vision.  I was lucky to get an appointment with a primary care doctor yesterday. He said I suffered a concussion and I am having a cat-scan on Monday to make sure there is no internal bleeding. I will keep you posted.

 

Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear about your fall, just what you didn't need. You must have been shaken up and worried especially with just having had surgery. You would think the hospital staff would have checked you out more thoroughly. 

You've got a busy week ahead, with a scan on Monday then your staples removed on Tuesday. I hope whoever you see on Tuesday can re-assure you that the incontinence business will just take time. We all just want to be better and back to normal as quick as possible, I'm the same, probably a bit impatient but I've had to learn and be patient and accept that recovery after this type of surgery is slow and will vary from individual to individual depending on what they've had done.

When I had the final surgery and was all connected up, my surgeon said 'you'll need to re-train the bowel, you know what I mean? It's done nothing for 20 months and it will be lazy'. I nodded and thought oh yeah, that'll be 2-3 weeks, how blinkered was I? Here I am 9 months later and just seeing a pattern of some sort emerging.

Anyway, get some answers on Tuesday to your concerns, keep in touch and lets know what happens.

Lynne.

Thanks Lynne,

Your persistence and fortitude is an inspiration to all.

Hi Sally,

Wondering how you got on on Monday/Tuesday? Did you get any answers on Tuesday to your concerns?

Lynne.

Hi Lynne, It's been a bumpy road.  As I mentioned I have been having terrible diarrhea and cramps.  On Monday, I knew this couldn't be a normal recovery from surgery.  I called the surgeon's office and demanded to be seen.  They tried to give me the run around, but I told them that my head injury had occurred while under their care and neither they or the hospital staff did anything about it.  I think that scared them into agreeing to see me.After the ct scan I went to the surgeon's office and was seen by his partner. They determined I was badly dehydrated and wanted to readmit me to the hospital.  I said no way.  The doc then said he thought I might have something called c-diff which is a very serious bacterial infection which might have been caused by giving me cipro for the urinary infection. Apparently this antibiotic is so strong it kills everything including the good bacteria.  I was experiencing gas pains akin to labor pains. He asked if I would be willing to go to the more local hospital for lab tests and to have an IV drip to rehydrate me.  He also gave me flagyl.  I spent several hours in the hospital with the IV.  Fortunately I was able to produce a stool sample.  They also removed my staples.  Today I found out I do not have c-diff for which I am thankful, but I must have some kind of raging infection.  The flagyl seems to be helping.  Since nobody bothered to tell me what to expect when I was discharged, I thought that the horrid pains and diarrhea were normal. Luckily I figured out this could not possibly be the case.  Had they done there jobs properly, I would have been spared about 5 days of this agony because I would have sought help much sooner. I see the surgeon tomorrow afternoon and will hopefully get more info about what's wrong.  Thanks for your concern- I'll keep you posted.

Hi Sally I have been following your posts and I am so sorry to hear of your suffering due to poor medical care and lack of information regarding your treatment.   I hope that the surgeon can reassure you tomorrow that everything is ok, he last thing you want after a major operation is a lot of anxiety!

 

Thank you Lyn,

I will post whatever info. I get rom the doctor.

Hi Sally,

It certainly has been a bumpy road for you. You've had the surgery and you expect to be progressing along the road to recovery, but you've had extra nasties to contend with. 

I'm pleased you haven't contracted C-diff, that's a long major hurdle to recover from. I've never heard of Flagyl, but if it seems to be helping for the time being then that's all to the good, until you see the surgeon and get more information. 

I hope you get on the right track soon to a speedy recovery and keep us all informed as to your progress.

Lynne.

I think Flagyl is the same as fybergel?

No - Flagyl is one of the two antibiotics used in conjunction with Cipro in the USA.  The two together are equivalent to the antibiotic pairing used in the UK.

Thank you for the information x

Saw the surgeon today and it was actually a good visit.  He admitted that he didn't know what had caused the awful diarrhea and cramps.  The lab did not test for anything other than c-diff so it could have been any other bacteria.    I politely told him about my complaints.  He thanked me and said he would otherwise not know.  Thankfully the cramps and diarrhea have abated.